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Yunus Was Right — Credit is Indeed a Human Right, and Savings is Important Too: Why the Microfinance Sector Must Avoid the ‘Circular Firing Squad’ and Promote Multiple Approaches to Financial Inclusion
Alex Counts, financial inclusion pioneer and founder of Grameen Foundation, took issue with Jeffrey Ashe’s recent NextBillion article, “Yunus Was Wrong—Savings, Not Credit, is a Human Right.” He argues that, instead of seeing the world through an “either/or” lens, the financial inclusion sector should embrace multiple tools, including credit, savings, insurance and more — and he urges today's changemakers to avoid promoting one social innovation at the expense of others.
- Categories
- Finance, Social Enterprise
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The Coca-Cola Foundation to Support Under-Represented Entrepreneurs
Kiva assists people who do not have access to commercial bank services to lenders through crowdfunding microfinance.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment, Finance, WASH
- Region
- Global
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Light Microfinance, IppoPay to Offer Digital Loans to MSMEs in India
The lending potential of Indian MSMEs can reach $3 trillion by FY23.
- Categories
- Finance
- Tags
- fintech, microfinance, MSMEs
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Viewpoint: What Happened to the Microfinance Organization Kiva?
A group of strikers argue that the organization seems more focused on making money than creating change. Are they right?
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Global
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Yunus Was Wrong — Savings, Not Credit, is a Human Right: Here’s How the Financial Inclusion Sector Can Shift its Focus
After playing a key role in the early development of the microfinance sector, Jeffrey Ashe went to Bosnia in the mid-1990s to consult on a new microfinance project. In those days, microcredit was widely viewed as a silver bullet that could end poverty, but while working in Bosnia, he learned that informal savings groups were already providing an effective alternative to formal loans in the local community. Ashe has spent the subsequent decades studying and supporting savings groups in countries around the world. He shares research that illuminates these groups' vast global impact, and argues that they could achieve far more if the financial inclusion sector supported them.
- Categories
- Finance
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Microfinance Clients In Groups Report Better Experience Than Individual Borrowers
These insights are from a preliminary look at the latest Microfinance Index (MFI), a survey of microfinance clients conducted by impact measurement company 60 Decibels.
- Categories
- Finance, Impact Assessment, Technology
- Region
- Global
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Press Release: GIZ and Seedstars Launch Joint Initiative to Boost Financial Inclusion and Innovation in Palestine
Although 60% of adults possess bank accounts in Palestine, a mere 10% utilize credit products, owing to limited financial literacy and inadequate financial offerings.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
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Press Release: Global Microfinance Index Announces Early Insights, Top Impact Award Winners and 3 New Tools to Access the Data
Now in its second year, 60 Decibels releases 5 key findings from the world's largest financial inclusion index grounded in human voice, ahead of its public report launch later this year.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Global
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